The face of federal failure

Economic question for you: Which is more important – mortgage or groceries?

Meet Donece Thomas, an African-American Milwaukeean and a federal employee of 10 years. She works as a customer service representative with the Social Security Administration. She is considered an “essential” federal employee and has been required to work during the government shutdown without pay. As a widowed single mother, she says she has experienced the shutdown as “frightening and unjust”.

“You are told you are going to get paid but you don’t know when. In the meantime your bills are still due. My mortgage, groceries, medications, electricity, healthcare premiums, gas, and car all still need paid for”. Thomas will receive her next check today, but will only receive one week’s pay. She does not know when she will be paid after that.

Thomas said the shutdown has been emotional for her and that it is difficult to remain calm and focused at work. “People cry at work and feel a lot of anxiety. If the shutdown continues, my clients’ social security benefits may be threatened. Many federal employees could face eviction, foreclosure, losing their cars, and will be unable to pay for things like childcare or food for their families.”

“People at work are already trying to figure out how they’ll keep paying for the gas that’s needed to get them there. Millions of Americans live one paycheck away from becoming homeless, and because of the shutdown many people are at that point right now”.

As of close of business yesterday, Congress had reportedly earned $2,477,370.00 during the shutdown, at a cost of $10,583.85 per hour to taxpayers. Meanwhile, Donece’s family is one of more than two million that are not receiving compensation while the shutdown persists. And the longer it persists, the harder it will become to find a single American whose life is not affected by the halt in government activities.

Worst of all, the shutdown has disparately grave consequences for many already underprivileged and disenfranchised Americans. Because the federal workforce comprises more people of color than the American workforce as a whole, the shutdown has distinctly dire effects on communities of color. Additionally, the widespread loss of social services to American citizens during the shutdown disproportionately affects people of color, the poor, and the working class.

So, while hundreds of thousands of Americans decide which cost to cover this week- medications or food- maybe Congress should take a lesson from Donece Thomas and do their job of serving the public.

Editor's Note: Purple Wisconsin is a collection of community bloggers with views from across the political spectrum. The Journal Sentinel hosts these blogs as a way to encourage thoughtful debate about the important issues facing Wisconsin and the Milwaukee region. The opinions voiced here are those of the individual bloggers alone; they are responsible for their posts. The Journal Sentinel does not edit or direct the bloggers in any fashion.

Claire Van Fossen is a lifelong Sherman Park resident who loves her city and is deeply dedicated to a vision of a socially just Milwaukee. She is a nonprofit professional, activist and recipient of the 2013 Community Shares Future of Change Award. Claire has a passion for intersectional anti-oppression and social justice work and place-based community organizing and works on issues of education, race, gender, sexuality and economic justice.